The Huawei FreeBuds 4i are wireless in-ears that look a lot like the Apple AirPods. But without Apple’s absurd prices. The bluetooth in-ears cost about 70 euros, and are therefore not a bad purchase at all. At least. You would think so.
Huawei Freebuds 4i
Recommended retail price €69
Color black, white, red
Link Bluetooth 5.2
Battery 55 mAh (earpiece), 215 mAh (charging case)
Weight 5.5 grams (earpiece), 37 grams (charging case)
Features microphone, noise reduction, ambient sound mode, IPX4
Load usb c
Website https://consumer.huawei.com
5 Score 50 
Due to the trade embargo with the US, Huawei has almost completely disappeared from the scene here in the Netherlands when it comes to smartphones. The focus will be more on electronics that until now have only received indirect attention from Huawei, such as their wireless earphones: the Huawei FreeBuds 4i. A year ago I already tested the predecessor, the Huawei FreeBuds 3i. At least. Then the exact same earphones were sold not only under the Huawei flag, but also with the stamp of the confusing subsidiary brand Honor. I have enjoyed testing this FreeBuds 3i, especially the price and wearing comfort were positive. In addition, the sound quality was not bad at all for the affordable earphones. We are now a year further, and subsidiary brand Honor has been sold. So there is only one kind of Huawei FreeBuds 4i.
What has remained is the design, which is again very similar to Apple’s AirPods Pro. If you are in the market for the Huawei FreeBuds 4i, but are bothered by the look, you can also get the earphones in other colors: black (like our test sample) and red.
If you are an Android user, it is better to look further at other earphones.
App problem
But before you compare prices for the Huawei earphones, there is a huge downside that we have to point out: Huawei does not make the corresponding app available in the Play Store. This app got its last update there in August 2020. Without this app, you can connect the earphones and play music. But do you want to update the firmware, configure the operation of the earphones, or get started with the equalizer. Then the Huawei AI Life App required. A QR code on the box leads to an APK file, to install Huawei’s app and its own application store AppGallery. This is an insecure way of installing apps and the biggest cause of malware on smartphones. That is why we do not recommend this.
Huawei is eager for people to use their AppGallery, but in this way Huawei uses the earphones as a trojan horse to force an unnecessary application store in an insecure way. With this, Huawei is making its users a rancorous victim of the trade ban imposed by the US. As a result, we can only strongly advise against the FreeBuds 4i for Android users and refer you to alternative earphones from, for example, 1More or Samsung, which fall in the same price range.
Huawei FreeBuds 4i features
The Huawei FreeBuds 4i has noise reduction and a mode that allows ambient noise to pass through (Huawei calls this Awareness mode). As is the case with bluetooth earphones, they are charged wirelessly in the supplied charging box, which you in turn charge via the USB-C port. The charging case cannot be charged wirelessly.
Just like the Airpods, the earphones are equipped with an exchangeable rubber tip, so you can adjust them to size. With the right fit, they also close the ear canal well, which is beneficial for the operation of the noise reduction. The weight of the FreeBuds 4i is quite low, so that the ears stay in place. Even if you move: a round of running went without any problems. You hardly feel that you have earphones in.
Huawei FreeBuds 4i in practice
You notice that the Huawei FreeBuds offer a good price-quality ratio not only in the wearing comfort, but also in the sound quality. The sound is very clear, with highs and mids well balanced. The bass sound is somewhat flat. Most earphones in the same price range are not as well-balanced when it comes to sound quality, and mainly compensate by boosting the bass sound. Good for some music genres. However, the FreeBuds are more suitable if you also use your earphones when making video or phone calls or listening to audiobooks and podcasts.
The big downside of the previous generation of FreeBuds was the disappointing battery life. This is something Huawei has rectified with this FreeBuds 4i. Huawei claims a battery life of ten hours. In practice I can’t manage that and I get to a maximum of eight hours. When the noise suppression or sound transmission is on, this naturally also has consequences for the battery life: a maximum of about six hours. That’s a good battery life.
However, the battery capacity of the charging case is disappointing. You can’t charge both earphones twice with it. The oval-shaped box does not leave a good impression on me, because the hinge with which you open the box also feels very vulnerable. In practice, I had to be more careful with the charging case than with the earphones themselves.
noise reduction
Noise cancellation on earphones under $100, it’s unrealistic to expect them to shut out all outside noise, so you can concentrate on other things undisturbed. In-ears don’t close off like over-ear headphones and for more advanced techniques you end up with earphones in the high price range, such as Bose.
The Huawei FreeBuds 4i therefore have noise reduction, which indeed filter out some of the outside noise. All the sound, however, does not work. You will still hear people talking or cars passing by. Nevertheless, it is a pleasant function, which I frequently turned on during testing. The mode in which sound is correctly passed through works as you expect. You can’t hold conversations while listening to music, but you get a sense of what’s going on around you. Which is so handy in traffic, for example.
Conclusion: Buy Huawei Freebuds 4i?
As much as the Huawei Freebuds 4i are excellent earphones for a favorable price, as an Android user it is best to ignore them. Huawei’s insecure AppGallery intrusion is a practice that cannot be excused. This makes you better off with competitors in the same price range. Think Samsung, 1More, Urbanista, and so on. That’s a shame, because the earphones have excellent sound, wearing comfort and functionality. No bad buy for iPhone users.
At the beginning of this year we tested 20 bluetooth in-ears
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